ERIC CLAPTON

ERIC CLAPTON

 Life of a Guitar God, His Demons and All by:  Alan Light

It it one of the most mythic romantic entanglements in rock ‘n’ roll history.  At some point in the late 1960’s, Eric Clapton fell in love with Pattie Boyd, wife of his close friend George Harrison.  Mr. Clapton’s 1970 masterpiece, “Layla and other Assorted Love Songs” (recorded with his band at the time, Derek and the Dominos), was a offering and a plea to her; they eventually married in 1979 and divorced in 1988.

The saga sits at the center of “Clapton: the Autobiography,” which was published in October 2007.  Mr. Clapton memoir follows the recent release of Ms. Boyd’s side of the story in “Wonderful Tonight.”  Mr. Clapton said that he had not read her book and that he had seen excerpts in newspapers and noted discrepancies in the two accounts of their relationship.

On the phone from his home outside London, where he lives with his wife, Melia McEnery, and their three daughters, he singled out as far-fetched Ms. Boyd’s description of a night in which he and Mr. Harrison had a “guitar duel” for her hand.  “We each have our different versions of our years together,” he said.

His description of his relationship with Ms. Boyd, though, offers few excuses for his emotional swings, substance abuse and extramarital affairs (including one that produced his oldest daughter) that defined much of their decade together.  “Someone recently read the book and told me that I was really hard on myself,” Mr. Clapton said.  “I think that’s a misunderstanding of it.  I just tried to take responsibility for all the different phases of my life.”

“Clapton” chronicles the many musical configurations of Mr. Clapton’s career.  He has played in several monumental bands (the Yardbirds, Cream); accompanied the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf; and top the charts and filled arenas as a solo performer.

With his sturdy blues foundation, liquid tone and architecturally structured solos, Mr. Clapton, 62, is one of the rock’s most influential and revered guitarists.  Early in his career, the phrase “Clapton is God” was a common sight on the walls of London.

But Mr. Clapton’s life  has also been defines by a series of tragedies and oddities.  He was raised by his grandparents, under the illusion that they were his parents; he never met his father and, until the age of 9, he believed that his mother was actually his older sister.  He suffered through a lengthy, epic battle with alcoholism and drug addition.  In 1001, Mr. Clapton’s 4-year –old son, Conor, died after falling out of a hotel room window.

“I wanted to wait until I had an entire life to write about,” he said.  “And though I don’t think I’m quite done yet, my memory was starting to play tricks on e.  I realized that if I don’t do it now, I might have to rely on other people’s memories, and it might start to lose some of the accuracy.”

The biggest curiosity for readers surrounds his account of his marriage to Ms. Boyd.  Her book incited a bit of tabloid frenzy, particularly a scene of the two guitarists battling for her affection with their instruments.

Mr Clapton remembers the evening in question.  “I went over just to hang out, he got two guitars, and we played,” he said.  “But we were always doing that, so how do you make en everyday thing into a commodity?’

Mr. Clapton’s friendship with Mr. Harrison survived the change in Ms. Boyd’s allegiance; the former Beatle once said, “I’d rather she with him than some dope.”  Mr. Clapton was the musical director for the “Concert for George” tribute show after Mr. Harrison’s death from cancer in 2001.

Mr. Clapton tells of joining and quiting groups, no matter how successful, frequently and with little warning.  But he said he finds his stability in the blues.  “There’s matter-of-factness, a sense of acceptance about the blues,” he said.  “Acceptance is a great state of being.  It steps aside of hysteria, drama, extreme emotions.”  And it is precisely this unblinking sensibility that defines the author’s voice in “Clapton.”

“To write this book, I have to be comfortable with my day-to-day existence,” Mr. Clapton said.  “I like that I can look back and feel comfortable with my life.”